When developing a business strategy, targeting millennials certainly isn’t a new phenomenon. But as time passes and this generation grows older, their buying power grows as well. As such, your marketing tactics should be constantly evolving to make the most of this important demographic.
Why, you ask? Millennials now outnumber baby boomers. And, according to Accenture, this group of 18- to 34-year-olds spends roughly $600 billion per year. So, in an effort to grab a piece of this pie for your business, it’s imperative that your website is geared toward this crowd. Here are three ways to ensure that’s the case.
Design a Responsive Website
Designing a responsive, mobile-friendly website is not a new concept, and yet, many still lack this crucial component. Today, consumers own a wide array of digital devices, allowing them to view online content and make purchases from the comfort of, well, anywhere. Thus, if your website — and, more importantly, the content you publish — doesn’t automatically resize to fit various screen sizes, for example, the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge’s 5.5″ Quad HD Super AMOLED screen, you will undoubtedly lose visitors — fast. Millennials won’t wait around for an image to load or a page to appear; they’ll simply move on to a website that will deliver immediate results. Rule No. 1: Make sure your website is mobile-friendly, or — better yet — responsively designed.
Up Your Social Game
During the rise of social media in business, millennials acted as the guinea pigs on many of today’s platforms. And, suffice it to say, they’re still big users and influencers. With that in mind, how should your company appeal to this important demographic? Easy — include social share buttons on all pieces of content and highlight your company’s social media presence on your website. The best usage of this feature is through gated content — consumers can only access certain website features if they hand over important identifiable information — so visitors can access exclusive content or discounts.
Draw Millennials to You
There’s been a lot of debate about “push” versus “pull” marketing methods, and each business and industry likely needs a different ratio of each based on their unique needs. But regardless, the fact remains that millennials tend to prefer conducting their own research and discovering products on their own, rather than being hounded with ads and marketing emails from a particular brand.
So, in order to reach millennials specifically, it’s a good idea to build your website so visitors find it through organic search. Be sure to focus on SEO by including relevant keywords on your website. Additionally, share coupons on your social media pages that guide prospects to your website to make a purchase. These unobtrusive options are more likely to be welcomed by millennials.
Finally, as you think about how to target this all-important demographic, remember that millennials were raised in the digital age and are accustomed to access what they want at the touch of a button. Anything you can do on the back end of your website to increase efficiency and reduce obstacles will help you earn some of that $600 billion marketshare that’s so coveted.
